During the 2024–2026 biennium, the Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE)-Population Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has undertaken a series of activities under subprogramme 6 of the programme of work of the ECLAC system (Population and development), guided by resolutions 760(XXXIX) and 775(XL), entitled “Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean”, adopted at the thirty-ninth and fortieth sessions of ECLAC, respectively. Under resolution 775(XL), countries renewed their commitment to implementing and monitoring the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development, considering its Operational guide1 a voluntary technical instrument to assist countries. The Virtual Platform for Follow-up of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development was highlighted as a tool that can help to identify gaps and common challenges with a view to strengthening the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus.2 The contribution of the second regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development3 to the global follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development was also recognized.

The strategic objective that guides the activities of CELADE-Population Division of ECLAC and underpins its mandate is to increase and strengthen the capacity of the region’s countries to describe, analyse, comprehend and manage population dynamics and their links to economic and social development, with a view to incorporating demographic factors into public policies and programmes, especially those aimed at reducing poverty and inequality. This strategic objective is being achieved thanks to collaboration with other bodies of the United Nations system, in particular the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The work of CELADE-Population Division of ECLAC focuses on four areas: (i) technical assistance provided to countries in demography, information, and population and development; (ii) research on sociodemographic issues; (iii) intergovernmental processes, mainly within the framework of the Regional Conference on Population and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Regional Intergovernmental Conference on Ageing and the Rights of Older Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the follow-up to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration; and (iv) training in demography and data processing and analysis.